Can Contamination Pose Multi-Generational Concerns Via DNA Damage?

One of our subscribers/followers posed an interesting question at one of the recent Camp Lejeune contamination meetings that stuck out in our minds.  Their question was intriguing. Does this contamination impact DNA, and if so, could that damage cause issues for generations to follow?

As luck would have it, one of our advisers passed along a research article from Thomas M. Saunders, B.A. /B.S. Certified Linguist.  Mr. Saunders is an independent writer-researcher who has been working on Anthropogenic Climate Change and Fracking issues since 2012.

“I started by asking why people that lived near fracking operations were getting sick with the same medical problems as Agent Orange victims,” said Saunders.  “The short answer is both sets of victims are being contaminated with the same types of Environmental Toxins.”

While his article is directed to Oklahoma officials and is mainly concerned with climate and environmental impacts from contamination and sources such as fracking, what really stands out is his information describing DNA damage from chemical contamination and the multi-generational transfer that follows.

Here’s the excerpt, with a summary to follow:

The Effect of Critical Contamination of the Human Gene Pool:

We may already have passed the tipping point in the micro environment to avoid mass critical contamination of populations from Environmental Toxins.

Critical contamination from a biological, chemical, or radioactive environmental toxin is when exposure causes a definable medical condition. There is no rational argument that human critical contamination from Environmental Toxins, like EDCs (Endocrine Disruption Chemicals), are caused by anything “other than from man-made sources.”

Teratogenic toxins like Agent Orange (Endocrine Disruption Chemicals/EDCs) create a victim likely to pass on mutation and defects to a fetus. These severe birth defects are transgenerational and are known to increase in severity from one generation to another. (See; Mekong Syndrome)

There are already “ground zero” areas where teratogenic EDC and critical radioactive contamination of certain populations has taken place. These places/populations include the Russian Polygon, the Mekong Delta, Fukushima, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki Japan, Denton Texas, and American Agent Orange victims from the Viet Nam War.

“The Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism” has published a report by a number of leading experts who say there is a 99% possibility that exposure to Endocrine Disruption Chemicals (EDCs) will cause a health problem, i.e. Critical Contamination. http://press.endocrine.org/doi/10.1210/jc.2014-4324 http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/wp-content/uploads/advpub/2015/8/ehp.1409535.acco.pdf

Recent research by Linda Birnbaum of the National Institute of Health reveals that contaminations from large doses of EDC’s does not always cause the damage of low doses. Endocrine-disruption chemicals are non-monotonic meaning the response to EDCs does not necessarily intensify or diminish based upon the dose. Birnbaum’s research showed that low doses of endocrine disruptors can cause critical contamination (the causing a medical effect), and can even cause more dramatic disruptions than higher doses. http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/1205179/

…

EDCs are known to cause breast and prostate cancer, non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, thyroid diseases, and diabetes. EDCs are a direct cause of chromosomal damage, infertility, (Mekong Syndrome), asthma, obesity, strokes, heart disease, chloracne, peripheral neuropathy, autoimmune diseases, Alzheimer’s, Autism, and Parkinson’s diseases. The teratogenic related birth defects from critical EDC or radiation contamination include missing organs, missing bones, extra limbs, enlarged hearts, and various forms of mental retardation. There are other less commonly known conditions from critical contamination from endocrine disruptors.

Summary:

According to Saunders, certain evidence out there that may indicate that exposures to certain chemicals/EDCs can, indeed, cause DNA impacts that manifest in future generations. Is this the case for Camp Lejeune toxic water contamination and exposure to chemicals such as Benzene, TCE, PCE and Vinyl Chloride over 30+ years?  We need to find out.  In the case of Lejeune contamination, I have a feeling that we may find out, alright, whether we want to or not.

We’ll keep digging into this aspect and keep you informed of what else we can find.

If you’re interested in the full article from Saunders, you can find it here.